Attendance Analysis

Over at the New A’s Ballpark Blog, host Marine Layer has an intelligent analysis of how the third-deck closure affected attendance for the first series.

Compared to last year’s Yankees series, the A’s got 7,000 fewer fans but filled 94.4 percent of their seats versus 80.9 percent. He concludes that the tradeoff is worth it for the A’s: “Excess inventory was a factor in creating the perception of reduced value — not just of any A’s ticket, but of all pricing tiers as well.”

In other words, under the new system, there will be a more stable fan base buying more expensive tickets.

I think he’s probably right that it’s a smart business decision, but there’s a tradeoff — the A’s need all the fans they can get. They are risking alienation of some of their less wealthy, younger fans, many of whom eventually would migrate to the more expensive seats anyway.

Do you agree that the A’s made a good business move in closing the third deck? Post your thoughts here.